Calendar of Events — April 2017

All programs are free for JANM members and included with admission for non-members, unless otherwise noted. Events are subject to change.

Reservations are recommended for most programs; you may use the links below. You may also RSVP by emailing rsvp@janm.org or calling 213.625.0414 at least 48 hours in advance. Please indicate the name, date, and time of the program, as well as your name and the number of people in your party. (RSVPs are not accepted for Family Festivals).

For all ticketed events (classes, workshops, food tours, etc.), pre-payment is required to hold your space. Cancellations must be made 48 hours in advance or no refund will be issued.

Moving Day

March 23 – August 11, 2017
Daily from sunset to midnight

In conjunction with the exhibition Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066, JANM presents Moving Day, an outdoor public art installation. The work consists of a series of projections of the Civilian Exclusion Orders that were publicly posted during World War II to inform persons of Japanese ancestry of their impending forced removal and incarceration. Each projection will coincide with the 75th anniversary date of the specific exclusion order. Projections will take place on the facade of the museum’s Historic Building, the site of Los Angeles’s first Buddhist temple and a pickup point for Japanese Americans bound for concentration camps during World War II.

Mottainai Yoga with traci

Roughly translated, mottainai means “don’t be wasteful” in Japanese. In this yoga and meditation workshop for all levels, certified yoga instructor traci ishigo invites participants to harness their own inner energy to prevent body, mind, and spirit from going to waste.

Participants can expect the one-hour class to be both restorative and invigorating, with opportunities to practice deep stretches as well as strength-building standing and balancing poses. All classes are gentle, uplifting, and intended for participants of all ages. Come explore the many health benefits of yoga and meditation!

JANM Free Family Days: Celebrate Japanese American History

FREE ALL DAY

Learn about Japanese American history and actor/activist George Takei with crafts and activities inspired by our exhibitions, Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066 and New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei.

Kizuna Craft Stations
Get a head start on Kodomo no hi (Children’s Day, May 5) with our partnering organization, Kizuna. They will teach participants to make koinobori (carp streamers) and origami samurai hats.

Ruthie’s Origami Corner
Learn to fold beautiful origami bird pins, much like the ones that were made by incarcerated Japanese Americans during World War II.

Drawing Activity
When Japanese Americans were sent to camps during WWII, they were allowed to take only what they could carry. What would you put into your suitcase? Draw a few of your favorite things onto our paper suitcases.

JANM x Kizuna Photo Booth
What does America mean to you? Tell us by making a slogan or sign and posing with it in our photo booth, brought to you by Nerdbot.

Comic Book Education
Learn about famous Japanese Americans the fun way! Assemble and take home a special mini-comic book created by the Smithsonian Institution about the lives of former US Secretary of Transportation (and current Chair of JANM’s Board of Trustees) Norman Y. Mineta and civil rights activists Fred Korematsu and Yuri Kochiyama.

Paper Puppets
Make a paper puppet of your favorite notable Japanese American, or other personal hero. Templates will be available.

Passport Travel
View New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei and complete the passport we give you. Show your completed passport to a volunteer at the survey table to claim a prize! Limit one prize per person, while supplies last.

SCHEDULED ACTIVITIES:

11:30 a.m. • 1:30 p.m. • 2:30 p.m. • 3:30 p.m.: Story Time
Throughout the day, volunteers from JANM and Kizuna will read stories that share the Japanese American experience.

Mottainai Yoga with traci

Roughly translated, mottainai means “don’t be wasteful” in Japanese. In this yoga and meditation workshop for all levels, certified yoga instructor traci ishigo invites participants to harness their own inner energy to prevent body, mind, and spirit from going to waste.

Participants can expect the one-hour class to be both restorative and invigorating, with opportunities to practice deep stretches as well as strength-building standing and balancing poses. All classes are gentle, uplifting, and intended for participants of all ages. Come explore the many health benefits of yoga and meditation!

Santa Anita Assembly Center Reunion

If you missed the program, you can watch it online on JANM’s YouTube channel.

On the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Santa Anita Assembly Center, JANM and the Santa Anita Assembly Center Committee present a reunion and a public remembrance.

Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and President Roosevelt’s issuance of Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the mass incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living along the West Coast, the detainees were first sent to makeshift assembly centers while the remote concentration camps were being prepared for their arrival. Santa Anita Assembly Center utilized the grounds, parking lots, and horse stalls at Santa Anita Park to hold nearly 19,000 individuals, who had been living as far north as San Jose and as far south as San Diego, in unspeakable conditions for five months.

The event at JANM, which is open to the public and includes a lunch and a program, will bring together surviving detainees, their families, and their descendants’ families, whose lives became forever entwined as a result of their shared experiences at Santa Anita between March 27 and October 27, 1942.

$30 per person. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served. To make a reservation, please contact committee members June Aochi Berk at juneaochiberk@me.com or 818.400.3273, or Colleen Miyano at miyanofam5@aol.com or 310.908.7508.

Presented in partnership with the Santa Anita Assembly Center Committee.

Moving Day program presented by Visual Communications

FREE

Each night through August 11, from sunset to midnight, Moving Day presents outdoor projections of Civilian Exclusion Order posters, which were issued during World War II to inform persons of Japanese ancestry of their impending forced removal and incarceration. The date of each projection will coincide with the original issue date of the order being projected. Projections take place on the façade of the museum’s Historic Building.

Before tonight’s projections begin, join us for a special program presented by Visual Communications. Watch short video works from Digital Histories, a video production program created by Visual Communications that gives voice to ethnic-minority seniors from the Los Angeles, Asian Pacific American community. Seniors are particularly marginalized, and a major outcome of this project is the development of a unique voice from each program participant. This program has been compiled by program participant, and Little Tokyo resident Stephen Nagano and will include videos focused on the World War II incarceration.

Members Only Learning at Lunch: The George & Brad Takei Collection

In September 2016, actor and activist George Takei gifted JANM with his personal collection, some of which is on display in New Frontiers: The Many World of George Takei. Join JANM collections staff as they explore artifacts that did not make it into the show, offering intimate insights into Takei’s unique life.

33rd Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Friday, April 28 – Sunday, April 30

Visual Communications, the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, once again brings the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival to JANM for a series of special event screenings and select encores of festival favorites. In many cases, filmmakers will be on hand to participate in Q&A sessions with audiences, adding a uniquely intimate element to the experience.

Celebrating its 33rd edition in 2017, the festival will bring the best and brightest of new Asian Pacific American cinema to Little Tokyo audiences. For information and to purchase tickets, visit vconline.org/festival. JANM members are eligible for discounts.

Note: entire festival runs April 27–May 4; screenings at JANM take place April 28–30.

C3: The Conference for Creative Content

Saturday, April 29 – Sunday, April 30

Presented by Visual Communications, the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, as part of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, C3 is a two-day media arts conference dedicated to providing the APA creative community with a space for meaningful discourse on media and entertainment.

Panels and seminars feature established pioneers in entertainment, academia, and professional guilds. Topics covered will include new media technologies, media platforms, and distribution. C3 celebrates creativity and diversity by connecting aspiring and emerging content creators with seasoned individuals leading the charge.